1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bearing mechanism, a spindle motor including the bearing mechanism, and electronic equipment including the spindle motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Spindle motors, which rotate disks, are mounted on hard disk devices and optical disk devices. The spindle motor includes a stationary portion that is fixed to a housing of the device, and a rotating portion that rotates while supporting the disk. The spindle motor generates torque by using magnetic flux that is generated between a stator and a magnet, and rotates the rotating portion with respect to the stationary portion.
The stationary portion and the rotating portion of the spindle motor are connected via a fluid dynamic pressure bearing. An example of a spindle motor of the related art that includes a fluid dynamic pressure bearing is disclosed in U.S. Pre-Grant Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0124387. In the spindle motor of U.S. Pre-Grant Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0124387, a pumping seal 36 is disposed in a seal gap 32 between an outer circumferential surface of a bearing sleeve 14 and a surface of a second bearing constituting member 18.
In recent years, it is required that this type of spindle motor suppress a current value in view of energy-saving and environmental performances.